"I certainly want someone who is cool and ain't gonna go call for instant retaliation... Okay, if we have knowledge that the Russians have launched nuclear warheads that is a different story."

I suppose it's drifting to ask, and it's not going to happen - but why on Earth? Once "Mutual Assured Destruction" deterance had broken down it'd be too late for retaliation to do anything other than make things even worse.